Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Lagowski.
Melissa, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was serving as the Executive Director for the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce where I was responsible for 24 events a year, 12 newsletters, 8 committees and over 225 members as a staff of one. I took the organization out of the red and into the black. I loved what I was doing, but I got burnt out, so I left and went to corporate America where I was miserable.
I was working for a division of a Fortune 500 medical company. The company and the people were great, but it just didn’t resonate with me the way that my nonprofit, community work had. And then, I learned from some of my friends in Northcenter, that they had hired a professional event company to run their largest annual event. They told me that the gross profit had tripled, but the net profit to the organization had been cut in half.
It deeply disturbed me to learn that the nonprofit didn’t feel that they were receiving all of the money that they should from their largest annual fundraiser, and that is when I decided to launch an outsourcing company to support nonprofit organizations on an as-needed basis. Big Buzz Idea Group was formed on a fully transparent model so that our clients would always be certain they were receiving every penny they were entitled to.
And then in 2010, after watching a nonprofit association that I personally valued be run into significant debt by a professional management company, I became the Executive Director of that organization while running Big Buzz. After three years, the organization was debt-free with sizeable reserves in their bank account to hire a full time director. At that time, I realized that Big Buzz needed to expand our offerings to include full operational support for nonprofits and associations. It is our goal to take care of the day-to-day operations of the organizations so that leadership can focus on the mission and vision of the organization so that they can make a greater impact.
Has it been a smooth road?
My first big challenge came during the holidays of 2009. The office was officially closed, and I was working on the budget. I quickly realized that I was not going to be able to pay my staff through January. With the fallout of the economy, we just didn’t have the revenue we needed to make it work.
I was faced with the terrible realization that everyone either needed to cut their hours or they needed to find other jobs. To my utter surprise, everyone on my team cut their hours and stayed on board to weather the storm. It was at that time that I realized that we really had something special at Big Buzz!
Other struggles along the way have included:
– Having to fire our largest client
– Our annual events took some difficult hits because of unfortunate weather
– The move and expansion of our office (which is a great thing) but the added expenses and additional staffing costs definitely made an impact on our cash flow for a full year.
– Not charging what we are worth was also a big issue.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Big Buzz Idea Group – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Big Buzz Idea Group believes a strong community is defined by the local organizations working tirelessly to create a simple by-product: opportunity for greatness to flourish. A robust neighborhood is the foundation for business growth, active families and happy children.
We began in 2004 with a mission to stand behind nonprofit agencies and aim to maximize their impact. Big Buzz Idea Group was founded after witnessing grave wrongdoing by an event planning company to the detriment of a Chicago neighborhood organization. That organization was financially taken advantage of and that was simply unacceptable to us. It was time to stand up and lead by example.
Over the past 12 years, we have raised over $6 million for Chicago-area nonprofits. And we continue to work hard on their behalves with a high standard of ethics and transparency.
Nonprofits face many challenges. They perform magic with few dollars and fewer employees. The hours are long and the payoff can seem distant. Grinding, endless hours keep the dream alive by any means necessary. That is where Big Buzz Idea Group can help breathe new life.
Big Buzz Idea Group offers administrative and operational support so the executive director and the board can focus on the bigger picture. We are experts in providing nonprofits the time and energy to ignite, empower and foster their cause.
We work to inspire and be inspired in our partnerships and projects. Big Buzz Idea Group exists to champion worthy causes and elevate the common good. Let’s leave this place better than we found it.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love the communities and the people in Chicago! I was born and raised in a small town in Ohio, and when I first came to Chicago I felt like a small fish in a giant ocean. But now, all these years later, Chicago feels like home. There are so many wonderful neighborhoods with their own unique charm, but beneath it all are so many of the most amazing people I have ever met. I love that this city allows so many of us entrepreneurs work toward success with incredible support and resources, and that it allows for so many opportunities for all people to succeed on their own terms!
And having come from a small town, we lacked diversity. I absolutely LOVE that we are surrounded by so much ethnicity daily! I love that my children have never seen color as a point of difference and that my children embrace the differences as a learning moment. It is wonderful to watch them learn about the heritage and traditions of their school friends!
What I dislike the most about Chicago, is the violence. It is disheartening to me that so many young people surrender their lives to gangs. It saddens me that these young people are not able to more easily break free from the shackles that bind them, and it breaks my heart that so many innocent people are killed every year simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I pray that a solution will appear soon to end this senseless violence.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4055 W. Peterson Ave., Suite 105
- Website: http://bigbuzzideagroup.com/
- Phone: 7738048589
- Email: info@bigbuzzideagroup.com
- Instagram: Big Buzz Idea Group
- Facebook: Big Buzz Idea Group
- Twitter: Big Buzz Idea Group
- Yelp: Big Buzz Idea Group
- Other: Big Buzz Idea Group
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
